SME Bank empowers 5,735 entrepreneurs in 1H25, up 158%
KUALA LUMPUR: Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia (SME Bank) has empowered 5,735 entrepreneurs in the first half of 2025 (1H 2025), an increase of 158 per cent against the 2,225 entrepreneurs recorded in 1H 2024.
In a statement today, the subsidiary of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd said the achievement was driven by its dedicated capacity-building and training arm, the Centre for Entrepreneur Development and Research (CEDAR), which serves as the lead implementer.
SME Bank acting president and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim said that among the beyond-financing programmes entrusted to the bank was the Maju Usahawan MADANI programme, introduced to strengthen the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) ecosystem through targeted capacity-building.
"Spanning from January 2025 to March 2026, the programme aims to assist 3,000 micro-entrepreneurs. As of June 2025, a total of 1,632 entrepreneurs have benefited from this initiative, including MSMEs from the Bumiputera community, youth, rural areas, the bottom 40 per cent (B40) income group, Asnaf, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
"On the regional stage, CEDAR has also been appointed ASEAN's Centre of Excellence for MSMEs in Green Transition, a recognition listed among the Priority Economic Deliverables for Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025. This affirms SME Bank's leadership in shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future for enterprises, both domestically and across ASEAN,' he said.
Meanwhile, SME Bank said the Halal Entrepreneurship Development Programme has supported over 400 participants since its launch in 2023, and the Program Pembangunan Kapasiti Vendor has onboarded 109 vendors with RM15.87 million in approved incentives.
"As of 2024, 28 per cent of the vendors recorded at least a five per cent increase in revenue, contributing to total vendor revenue of RM1.23 billion.
"The Business Exports Programme, a structured intervention programme funded by the Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development and in collaboration with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, has facilitated RM191.93 million in export sales through the onboarding
of 98 companies across five phases,' it added.
The SME Bank XCESS, the bank's flagship business matching platform, continues to serve as a conduit for Malaysian SMEs to access international markets, with this year's edition, XCESS 2025, scheduled for Sept 25, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, it said.
Complementing this, the SME Bank iTEKAD ISHRAF, a structured Asnaf entrepreneurship empowerment programme under Bank Negara Malaysia's iTEKAD initiative, has collectively recorded a 126 per cent increase in sales, amounting to RM19.25 million.
The programme has also generated 182 new jobs and enabled 314 entrepreneurs to adopt new
technologies and facilitated the creation of 224 business networks.
Looking ahead, SME Bank said it will continue to play a pivotal role in advancing the MSME agenda, with over RM1 billion in strategic initiatives mandated to the bank under the National Budget 2025, including delivering both financing and beyond-financing support across key strategic sectors. - Bernama
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